Aracalāpuram memorial stone for a cock

Metadata

Current Version:  draft, 2024-04-22Z

Editors:   Emmanuel Francis and Valérie Gillet.

DHARMA Identifier: INSPallava00397

Summary: Memorial stone set up in honour of a cock, which fought for the western quarters (mēl-cēri) of a village. It is not clear whether the stone commemorates the death of the cock when fighting (as in the case of a deceased warrior) or its victorious fight.

Hand Description:

The puḷḷi is used. There are characters of eccentric ductus: ku and k=ka (line 2).

Additional Metadata

Alternative identifier:

Origin:

Classification:

Languages:

    Corresponding Artefact:

    Layout:

    Edition

    1mukaiy¿u?⟨ū⟩ru mēṟ·-(c)[ē-]
    2ri(k)uy āṭi-(k= ka)-
    3rukiya kōḻi

    Apparatus

    1 mukaiy¿u?⟨ū⟩ru ◇ mukaiyūru SR; mukaiyuru IM1997 IM1998; mukaiy¿u?⟨ū⟩ru IM2003 — 1–2 mēṟ·(c)[ē-]/ri(k)uy ◇ mēṟcē/riṭuy SR; meṟc[e-]/riṭuy IM1997 IM1998; mēṟ·c[ē-]/ri(k)uy IM2003 • The syllable ku of eccentric ductus was previously read ṭu.
    2 āṭi(k=) ◇ āṭi SR; āṭik IM1997 IM1998; āṭik= IM2003

    Translation by Mahadevan 2003

    1-3 [The image of] the cock was engraved after it had fought on behalf of Mēṟcēri in [in] Mukaiyūr.

    Translation by Emmanuel Francis and Valérie Gillet

    1-3 The cock, which was scarred↓1 when fighting for the Mēṟcēri↓2 of Mukaiyūr.

    Commentary

    This inscription is counted in the Pallava corpus, insofar as its date (5th century CE according to Mahadevan 2003) and provenance correspond the period and the area of the Pallava rule in northern Tamil Nadu.

    A similar inscription, commemorating a victorious cock with a strikingly similar image of a cock, has been found at Intaḷūr (DHARMA_INSPallava00401). The two inscriptions appears to be closely related: the present Aracalāpuram inscription commemorates the fighting cock of the western quarters, whereas the Intaḷūr inscription commemorates the fighting cock of the eastern quarters.

    See the comments by Mahadevan 2003: pages 624–626.

    Bibliography

    Reported in Dinamalar 1991–November; Edited in Rajavelu 1996; re-edited in Makātēvaṉ 1997, Rajan 1997, Makātēvaṉ 1998; re-edited and translated Mahadevan 2003; re-edited here for DHARMA (ERC n° 809994) by Emmanuel Francis and Valérie Gillet (2021) from photographs (2013) and visual documentation in Mahadevan 2003.

    Primary

    Dinamalar. 1991–November. “[Discovery of inscribed stele at Arasalapuram],” November 13, 1991, Pondicherry edition.
    §News item. [siglum D]
    Rajavelu, S. 1996. “Inscription from Araśalāpuram.” Journal of the Epigraphical Society of India 22: 88–89.
    [siglum SR]
    Makātēvaṉ, Airāvatam. 1997. “toṇṭaimaṇṭalattuk kōḻik kaṟkaḷ.” Āvaṇam 8: 9–19.
    Pages 10–14. [siglum IM1997]
    Rajan, K. 1997. Archaeological Gazetteer of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur: Manoo Pathippakkam.
    Pages 315–316. [siglum KR1997]
    Makātēvaṉ, Airāvatam. 1998. “toṇṭaimaṇṭalattuk kōḻik kaṟkaḷ: mīḷāyvu.” Āvaṇam 9: 142.
    [siglum IM1998]
    Mahadevan, Iravatham. 2003. Early Tamil Epigraphy, from the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. Harvard Oriental Series 62. Chennai; Cambridge, Mass.: Cre-A; Harvard University Press.
    № 112, pages 466–467, 530, 624–626, plate 47A. [siglum IM2003]

    Secondary

    Rajan, Karai. 2000. South Indian Memorial Stones. Thanjavur: Manoo Pathippakam.
    Page 65. [siglum KR2000]

    Notes

    ↑1. Mahadevan 2003 translates as “was engraved” as he equates karukiya with karukkiya. We suggest that karukiya is the past form of karuku-tal, one of the meaning of which, according to the Madras Tamil Lexicon, is “to be scorched, scarred”.
    ↑2. That is, the western quarters.